Vouchers: an escape for few — at the expense of many [Letter]

November 21, 2013

Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. apparently just doesn't get it. He wants the NAACP ("An open letter to the NAACP," Nov. 17) to support government funding of a few young people so they can escape their communities like the Arbutus he used to call home. Some of us want to help all the residents of struggling communities, finding ways to enable those with "athletic and academic prowess" to stay and strengthen their neighborhoods, including their siblings who might not be offered an escape.

I don't doubt Mr. Ehrlich's appreciation of the opportunity he was given. I do suspect Mr. Ehrlich, or at least his elite circle, understand that government funding of vouchers and other escape strategies amount to a protect-the-privileged plan, at the expense of the rest of us. I hope the NAACP will ignore Mr. Ehrlich's request to favor the few over the many.